Thursday, September 21, 2006

In the comments section of our preliminary ballot for the MGoBlog Blogpoll, you, the loyal MZone reader, made some very valid points. And we took them to heart.

As such, we made a couple tweaks. Whereas before we had Oregon at #8 and LSU at #10 (with Texas at #9), we now have LSU at #8 and Oregon at #10 with Texas still sitting at #9. We thought LSU's 4 point loss on the road Auburn was a "better loss" than Texas' 17 point loss at home to Ohio State. Furthermore, after seeing more on the Oregon/OU game, we didn't feel they should move up from last week. However, they shouldn't be punished for calls they didn't make. They still had to put the ball in the endzone twice.

Speaking of the Oregon/OU game, we moved Texas up to #20 from #25. We feel your pain.

The Sooners aren't the only team in history of college football to lose a game due to a bad call. Michigan has had their share (Charles White's Phantom Touchdown in the Rose Bowl, Clock Gate and Desmond being tripped against MSU, and the Sun Belt refs in last year's Alamo Bowl to name a few), Georgia Tech had to split a National Title in the early 90s with Colorado due to a "5th down," Miami lost the 2003 Fiesta Bowl as a result of a questionable PI call, and on and on and on.

Point is: shit happens. So suck it up, Sooners. Right now public sentiment is on the side of Oklahoma. But a couple more of these "I'm going to take my toys and go home" threats and you might lose both the game and public sympathy.

12 comments:

I love that OU and Bob Stoops claim that the alleged onside kick and touchdown were the reason they lost...

If I recall correctly, OU still got the ball back on the kickoff... and returned it INTO FG RANGE with about 30 seconds left in the game! They were down by one and only needed to convert it... it was blocked because they decided to RUN the ball with no timeouts!!

I will never blame a loss on bad calls unless the call was the last play of the game and determined the outcome, or if the call results in the team that is losing, having another shot at winning... those are the only times that bad calls matter.

During a game... you can have bad calls which aren't reviewable change the course of a game... however, you have the opportunity to correct these bad calls with your play on the field after the call has been made. Whining about a call, but having 3 plays (kickoff return included) to win the game, and being in the position to win the game... well... OU was just trying to deflect their piss poor playcalling in the final seconds on something other than themselves.

Among the things I like about the M Zone is that you are not dogmatic: you re-examine previous opinions, take other views into account, and are open to changing your position. (Kiss a career in politics goodbye.)

I think your poll revisions -- moving up LSU after a quality loss; moving down Oregon after a tainted win; moving up Oklahoma after a tainted loss -- are good improvements. . . . I truly believe that with the continued democratization of the media as a result of the internet, the day will come when an aggregated blogpoll has the prestige of the "major" polls. Indeed, that day should be tomorrow.

Being a Longhorn fan I was grinning from ear-to-ear watching the end of that game. Even though I normally root for other Big 12 teams (yes, even OU sometimes) I really love watching Stoops steam on the sidelines.

My own joy aside though, they got screwed not once but twice. I think they have a right to bitch and keep bitching until something is actually done about it. A one game suspension, for basically ruining their season and potentially costing their school and conference millions of dollars? Not enough. Not nearly enough. Heads should fly on this one.

Sure they're not the first team to lose a game on a bad call. But this is the first one I can recall since they have instant replay. Not the first blown call with instant replay, but the first game that henged on it. This is the exact reason instant replay is used. If this happened to Texas I would be sick. If it happened to Michigan I would expect to see nothing but bitching on this site for a month.

On a side note, I just wanted to let you know that I love the site. I check it every morning with my coffee and have got several others hooked on it to. Keep up the good work!

Oh, and Go Blue! Thank you for whooping up on the Irish. That made my Saturday.

Football karma just sucks doesn't it? Opening weekend, Oklahoma gets a gift on a HORRIBLE call where OU clearly fumbled a UAB punt and the refs gave OU the ball, (incorrectly) saying the play was dead. The Sooners went on to eke out a victory against the mighty Blazers (1-2) of CUSA by 7 points.

If the OU crybabies are so dead set on teams forfeiting that benefit from poor officiating at crucial times, they should lead by example and forfeit the UAB game. Either way, they are 2-1 and a exposed (early this time) second tier team AGAIN in 2006.

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